The technical field of this invention relates, generally, to material folding devices, and more particularly to, a table to paper folder.
Buckle chute folding devices are well known. Folders are used to fold single or multiple sheets of paper or other sheet materials such as metal, cardboard, plastic, or other similar materials that, when folded, will retain a crease. Typically, folders use a series of rollers to grab and move the material being folded through the fold process. These rollers also crease the material as it passes between sets of contacting rollers. In the majority of cases, folders create one or two folds, depending on how the folding device is configured.
Generally, a folding device includes a folding table for each fold desired. The fold table includes a device to block the path of the material to be folded. This blocking device is commonly referred to as a stop. Typically, as the material leaves a set of rollers, it enters into and is loosely contained within the fold table. The stop is positioned within the fold table at a specific distance from the rollers depending on the desired location of the fold. When the material strikes the stop, because the material is contained within the fold table, the only place that the material can buckle is outside of the fold table, near the rollers at the entrance of the fold table. An additional pair of rollers will then capture the material at the buckle and finish the fold by creasing the material as the material passes through the pair of rollers. The position of the fold may be adjusted by changing the relative distance between the stop and the rollers. Additionally, as long as there is a pair of rollers for each fold table that exists in the folder, the material will be folded once.
Many folding devices that are capable of producing multiple folds are designed to be configured to also produce a single fold. However, the problem arises as to how to eliminate the unneeded material pathways within the folding device when only a single fold is desired. Some prior devices eliminate one of the fold tables from the material path. This is generally done by changing the orientation, through reversing, the unneeded fold table, so that the reversed fold table becomes a material path diverter of sorts. Reversing the fold table is often burdensome and, for large folding devices, can be quite bulky and awkward due to the weight of the fold table. Furthermore, to complete the reconfiguration, the position of the stop in the remaining fold table must be adjusted in order to obtain the desired fold position. Thus, folding devices that allow for varying the number of folds require multiple steps to change configurations. This is often time consuming and requires a degree of user experience to configure the folder from a multiple fold to a single fold, and back again.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a material folder with a user adjustable mechanism that overcomes these and other disadvantages.
The present invention provides a tabletop apparatus for folding material. The apparatus includes a frame, having first and second roller pairs and a first fold table and a second fold table positioned to receive material from the respective roller pairs. The apparatus also includes a fold selector assembly rotatably attached to the frame, the assembly including a diverter and a stop fence. The fold selector assembly is adjustable by a single actuation arm to rotate between a single fold position and a double fold position. The invention further provides a tabletop folding apparatus having independently adjustable fold selector and material diverter assemblies.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will become further apparent from the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The detailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of the invention, rather than limiting the scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.